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Story:Star Trek - Infinity/Chapter 11
---- I rushed down the hall and slowed to a stop as I reached my destination. Nicky stood, waiting for me in front of Holodeck 1. I panted, “Sorry I’m late, those 24th century uniforms are a pain to get on; they’ve got three different layers stacked on top of each other. They are comfy though.” Nicky smiled and we stepped into the holodeck. It had been five days since the incident with the Guandians, and we still hadn’t been able to restore warp core power. Stress onboard had peaked, and Dr. Layn had insisted that the crew be given some time off. As promised, I had agreed to spend my time off in the holodeck with Nicky. She had requested we reenact the events leading up to her father’s captainship of the Enterprise, and I had eagerly agreed. We had both dressed for the occasion. I wore the uniform and rank of a command division ensign, and Nicky had chosen to be a Lt. JG science officer, fourth in command of the science division. We had agreed to begin in 2380, right after the battle between the Enterprise-E and the Reman insurgency. Nicky and I stepped onto the bridge, and watched a human captain and a Klingon commander exit the turbolift. Nicky spoke out loud, “Computer, freeze program.” The crew froze in mid-step, and Nicky turned to me. “As you know, the human is Captain Jean Luc Picard.” I nodded. “And the Klingon beside him is Commander Worf, his First Officer.” She nodded and pointed. “The man standing at the tactical station is Lieutenant Commander Padraig Daniels, the ship’s security officer. The Trill woman at the helm is Lieutenant Junior Grade Kell Perim, and the man at the ops station-” I cut in, “Is that your dad?” She smiled and nodded. “Lieutenant Commander Wesley Crusher, Second Officer, Chief of Operations, and Chief Science Officer. Computer, resume program.” Lt. Cmdr. Crusher jumped to his feet and saluted. “Captain on the bridge!” Picard chuckled. “At ease Mr. Crusher.” Nicky glanced at me. “Alright, now focus your attention at the turbolift again.” I did so, and watched as the doors opened again. A man wearing an operations gold uniform with the rank of lieutenant commander stepped out and saluted. Picard smiled. “Ah, Mr. Barclay. While I was quite sad to see Geordi leave to command the Challenger, I couldn’t have chosen a better man to be his successor.” Barclay replied, “It’s good to see you too, sir.” Picard’s expression changed to one of bewilderment. “Reg, I do believe I heard you speak that sentence perfectly. You didn’t stutter on a single syllable.” The Lt. Cmdr. smiled. “Five years of being a professor at Starfleet Academy cured me of my jitters; that and getting engaged.” Picard replied, “Congratulations Reg! You’ll have to introduce me sometime.” Barclay nodded. “You’re all invited to the wedding next month. And speaking of introductions, I have somebody here that I think you might want to meet.” Barclay stepped to the side, revealing a young woman who had been standing behind him. “May I present to you, Lieutenant Dorian Collins, our new Head Counselor.” I turned to Nicky. “Is that your mom?” She nodded. “Even before they met, my dad had his gaze on my mother as soon as he laid eyes on her.” I glanced at Wesley; his eyes had grown ever-so-slightly wider, and his calm expression had tilted upwards in to a smile. Picard smiled and stepped forward to shake Dorian’s hand. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Collins.” I looked her over. She was young, probably in her mid-twenties, perhaps a little older. She had short golden blond hair that was tied back into a bun, and she wore a 24th century science and medical division blue uniform. Aside from the eyes, Nicky looked like the spitting image of her mother. She turned to look at Worf. “Good to see you again Commander.” Worf raised an eyebrow. “Have we met before?” She replied, “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me. Oh well, I suppose you’ve probably met dozens of crewmen before. I met you while you were stationed on Deep Space Nine. I was the only survivor of the USS Valiant, the Defiant’s sister ship.” He nodded. “Of course.” Picard once again turned to Barclay. “Reg, are we ready to depart?” Barclay nodded. “Yes captain, we just finished making the last of our repairs.” Picard turned and sat down in his chair. “Then by all means, engage.” Lt. JG Perim moved her fingers across the throttle control, and the stars twisted as the Enterprise shot to warp. Nicky spoke up, “Computer, fast forward two years; chapter 27, time index 22.” The terrain around us changed, and I found myself standing on a grassy plain. “Beverly Howard Crusher, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?” Nicky turned to me. “That’s my grandmother, Beverly.” I replied, “As in, Beverly Picard?” She nodded. “Computer, fast forward two years; chapter 31, time index 1.” The scenery changed once more, and I again found myself standing on the bridge of the Enterprise-E. Nicky smiled. “This is where things start to get interesting.” Picard walked up behind the ops station. “Mr. Crusher, scan the nebula.” Wesley nodded, and then frowned. “There’s something interfering with our sensors, captain.” Picard replied, “Launch a probe into the nebula.” Wesley nodded. “Aye, captain.” He tapped around on his console and a probe was launched into the cloud. Wesley turned to Picard. “Nothing yet…wait. The probe is picking something up…” Picard glanced at Wesley. “What is it Mr. Crusher?” Wesley replied, “Captain, the probe just vanished.” Picard turned. “Commander Daniels, raise shields. We don’t want a repeat of the Stargazer’s first encounter with the Ferengi.” The ship was rocked as a blast struck the ship, and several of the bridge officers were thrown off their feet as a jet-black Shadow Warbird glided out of the nebula. Picard regained his footing and stumbled back into his chair. Worf clenched his teeth. “Dirty Romulan scum! Commander, ready phasers and arm torpedoes!” Picard replied, “Belay that order Mr. Daniels. And Mr. Worf, let’s remember that this faction does not represent the Romulan empire. Let’s hail them first.” Attention Romulan ship, this is Captain Jean Luc Picard of the Starfleet vessel USS Enterprise. You are currently in violation of the Romulan Starfleet peace treaty. Power down your weapons and break off your attack.” Worf added, “If you refuse, we will be forced to disable your ship!” A moment later, a dark-haired figure ppeared on the main viewer. “We do not acknowledge that treaty. You have entered our territory, prepare to be destroyed.” Picard opened his mouth to reply, but the channel closed before he could get even a word out. Moments later, another volley of shots struck the Enterprise. Lt. Cmdr. Daniels shouted, “Captain, shall I ready weapons?!” Picard’s expression darkened. “Yes, but aim for their tactical array; I only want them disabled.” The commander nodded and tapped on his console. “Weapons ready, sir.” Picard raised his hand into the air, and then brought it downwards. “Fire.” A volley of torpedoes whizzed out of the Enterprise’s forward launcher and flew towards the warbird. Daniels’ eyes widened as he shouted, “No effect, sir!” Worf turned to Daniels. “What do you mean, ‘no effect’ Commander?” Daniels replied, “The torpedoes didn’t hit anything; their shields are still at 100%!” Picard turned back to the monitor. “But how is that possible?” Wesley spoke up, “I think I have an explanation sir. Right before the torpedoes hit, the sensors detected a small jump in temporal energy.” Picard’s eyes widened. “Are you saying they went phased into another dimension?” Wesley replied, “Most likely a pocket dimension, and they only phased out enough to avoid getting hit.” Picard gaped. “Ingenious.” Worf growled. “The cowards! They flee to another dimension rather than facing their enemy!” Another blast struck the ship, and Daniels cried out, “Forward shields down to 30%!” Picard turned to Perim. “Lieutenant, lay in an escape course, maximum warp!” Perim nodded, and Worf turned to Picard in astonishment. “But captain, we mustn’t flee! We must stay, and fight!” Picard replied, “We can’t win commander; retreat is our best option.” The ship rocked again, and Daniels shouted, “Sir, they just hit our starboard nacelle!” Picard tapped his combadge, and it chirped. “Commander Barclay, can we still go to warp?” There was a short pause, then Barclay replied, “I wouldn’t recommend it captain; it could very well tear the ship apart.” Picard narrowed his eyes. “Mr. Worf, get everyone to the shuttles and escape pods.” Worf replied, “But captain-” Picard cut in, “Now Commander! That is an order!” Worf slowly nodded and headed for the turbolift, followed by the rest of the bridge personnel. Picard spoke aloud, “Computer, transfer engineering controls to the bridge, and arm the auto-destruct sequence. Authorization, Picard two-two-seven.” Worf spoke, “Computer, confirm auto-destruct. Authorization Worf nine-four-six.” Worf saluted as the doors closed. “It’s been an honor serving with you captain; stories will be told of your bravery and valor for centuries to come.” I turned to Nicky. “What’s he doing?” Nicky replied, “He’s going to warp directly into the warbird and self-destruct the ship right as they pass through each other. The two ships will become fused together, making it impossible for the Romulan ship to phase out.” As our escape pod detached from the Enterprise, I watched the beautiful Sovereign-class starship stretch as it shot to warp, making a gray and blue streak across the blackness of space. A moment later it rematerialized on top of the warbird. My eyes widened as the merged ships exploded in a burst of blue plasma flames. Behind me, I could hear the sounds of somebody crying, and turned to see Beverly sobbing, her hands buried in her face. Wesley had one arm wrapped around her, and simply watched the burning mass of titanium, too stunned to speak. Although I had heard many stories about Captain Picard’s demise, it was completely different to have seen and lived it through the eyes of his crew…